Skull’s Vengeance
(Series: Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 4)
By Linnea Tanner
A Celtic warrior queen must do the impossible—defeat her sorcerer half-brother and claim the throne. But to do so, she must learn how to strike vengeance from her father’s skull.
AS FORETOLD BY HER FATHER in a vision, Catrin has become a battle-hardened warrior after her trials in the Roman legion and gladiatorial games. She must return to Britannia and pull the cursed dagger out of the serpent's stone to fulfill her destiny. Only then can she unleash the vengeance from the ancient druids to destroy her evil half-brother, the powerful sorcerer, King Marrock. Always two steps ahead and seemingly unstoppable, Marrock can summon destructive natural forces to crush any rival trying to stop him and has charged his deadliest assassin to bring back Catrin's head.
To have the slightest chance of beating Marrock, Catrin must forge alliances with former enemies, but she needs someone she can trust. Her only option is to seek military aid from Marcellus—her secret Roman husband. They rekindle their burning passion, but he is playing a deadly game in the political firestorm of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to support Catrin's cause.
Ultimately, in order to defeat Marrock, Catrin must align herself with a dark druidess and learn how to summon forces from skulls to exact vengeance. But can she and Marcellus outmaneuver political enemies from Rome and Britannia in their quest to vanquish Marrock?
Trigger warnings:
Sex, Slave trafficking and abuse, Violence, Childbirth.
Interview
What inspired you to start writing?
When I was a child, my mother filled our shelves with a variety of books. I loved to read Greek, Roman, and Nordic myths and legends in which goddesses and women played major roles in the stories. It triggered my imagination to create a female warrior similar to the Amazons. Also, during this time, I became fascinated with Roman history and created her Roman love interest. Imagining “larger than life” stories in my head helped me to meet challenges throughout my life. Yet, I never wrote these stories down until later in life.
The inspiration for writing the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series began when I first beheld the statue of the ancient warrior queen, Boudicca, and her daughters in a horse-drawn chariot in London. The Roman historian Cassius Dio described her as being, “in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh: a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace.” Boudicca symbolizes how a determined woman can unite factions to rise up against tyranny and seek their freedom. My primary character, Catrin, is inspired by Boudicca’s legacy and her Celtic world, which later inspired Arthurian legend.
Catrin’s love interest, Marcellus, was inspired by the legacy of Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) and his relationship with Cleopatra. After their tragic death, Mark Antony’s son, Iullus, rose politically in the imperial court of Emperor Augustus Caesar. Tragically, Iullus was accused of treason for having an affair with the emperor’s daughter and was forced to fall on his sword. Iullus’s eighteen-year-old son, Lucius, voluntarily exiled to Gaul to avoid political repercussions.
I asked myself, “What would Lucius do if his son followed the destructive pathway of his forefathers whose liaisons with powerful women doomed them.” And thus, the character of Marcellus crystallized in my mind.
Ultimately, the characters I imagined as a child evolved into star-crossed lovers in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. My journey as a writer began in earnest to bring these characters to life when I semi-retired in 2010.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4 in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings) had to provide sufficient backstory to refresh readers’ memories of the previous books in the series or for them to read it as a standalone novel. This book is more epic as Marcellus and Catrin are swept into the political firestorm of the Julio-Claudian imperial court of Tiberius. I had to do more extensive research on the historical backdrop of Tiberius and the key Roman players vying for political power. I also tackled the difficult topic of slave trafficking and its abuses in the Roman society.
Ultimately, I had to listen to my characters tell their stories. New characters and plotlines were added, requiring several chapters of my original draft to be rewritten or replaced.
Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
Catrin holds a special place in my heart because she symbolizes what women have to overcome to pursue their dreams. She undergoes trials to prepare herself in the quest of overthrowing her half-brother, Marrock. An evil shapeshifter, Marrock has brutally overthrown their father’s kingdom with the aid of the Romans. Although Catrin is “bigger than life,” she faces challenges to which modern women can relate: pursuit of love, motherhood, and overcoming challenges unique to their gender. She must learn how to balance love versus duty to her people.
If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
This is a difficult question to answer. What comes to mind are celebrities from historical and fantasy series made for television. Actresses Morfydd Clark from Rings of Power and Katheryn Winnick from the Vikings embody Catrin’s resilience, strength, and athleticism.
When I began writing the series in 2010, I envisioned Marcellus looking like Andy Whitfield, who originally played Spartacus in the original Starz series but tragically died of cancer. James Purefoy, who played Mark Antony from the 2005-2007 television series, Rome, embodied Marcellus’s audacity and recklessness with love. However, a younger actor with these stars’ qualities would need to play Marcellus.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I hope readers are entertained and inspired by the story of a young woman who evolves into a formidable warrior queen. Further, I hope they learn more about the political backdrop of ancient Rome under the reign of Tiberius and the abuses slaves suffered in their society. The fall of Rome from within is a reminder that history repeats if we don’t learn from it.
Finally, I hope the central themes of love versus duty, free will versus fate, and power and corruption will resonate with readers after they finish reading the novel.
Buy the Series
Linnea Tanner
Award-winning author, Linne a Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical druids.
Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4).
A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
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The Whispering Bookworm
Thank you for hosting Day 10 of the blog tour for Skull's Vengeance and for interviewing me. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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